We as PHS faculty members are devastated by recent acts of violence against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and police brutality against members of the Black and Brown communities in the United States. We condemn both recent and historical events that are the manifestations of deeply seated racism and prejudice against people of color in this country.
We take this moment to affirm our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ). We write to acknowledge the grief, pain, and anxieties that these events have caused and stand in support of our community members, including those affected by racism, discrimination, and violence on the basis of their color, immigrant and indigenous status, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation, or disability. At the same time, we recognize the fruitlessness of only bearing witness to these events over and over again without radical action toward urgently needed systemic reform at all levels. We hope to foster bold ideas and support meaningful changes that will lead to the realization of a more just society for all.
Within PHS we commit to grappling with and taking concrete steps to enhance DEIJ in our department, our training programs, and our research activities. We encourage our community members affected by racism, discrimination, or violence to reach out to others in the PHS community for support and to share ideas on how we can better support DEIJ. We also encourage our community members to take advantage of the University’s mental health and counseling services. Support is available from Student Counseling, Deans-on-Call, the BSD Office of Diversity and Inclusion, OMSA and the Center for Identity + Inclusion (CI+I), UChicago Student Wellness and Spiritual Life.
Aresha Martinez-Cardoso
Brandon Pierce
Brian Chiu
Brisa Aschebrook-Kilfoy
Dezheng Huo
Diane Lauderdale
Don Hedeker
Elbert Huang
Eric Polley
Habib Ahsan
Harold Pollack
Jim Dignam
John Schneider
Kavi Bhalla
Lin Chen
Loren Saulsberry
Marcia Tan
Mei-Yin Polley
Prachi Sanghavi
Robert Gibbons
Ronald Thisted
Tamara Konetzka
Yuan Ji